Shaisvara
And the Maharaja's legions shined gold, just as the cities of Shaisvara do in the mid-day sun. Their airships and their soldiers were burnished with the precious metal, so much so that it boggled the mind they could remain flying or standing. When they closed to battle, however, they showed they weren't labored by the extra weight. Such was the wealth on display that I had to wonder if, in that instant, Shaisvara had all the gold of the world within it's reach and then some. After the bout, the soldiers returned to their lines in good order, and marched to their original positions while the enemy fled for their lives as the rumble of cavalry rapidly approached. I couldn't help but notice as one Shaisvaran soldier passed me that his gold was now speckled with ruby spatter, at once representative of something about opulance, but I lack the knowledge to truly put it to words.
-Excerpt of The Journals of a Poor-Forest Soldier, by Temperance Damarus
Shaizvara is a nation that has only one direct counterpart, Sin-inun, but not for its power, prestige, or for any material reason one might imagine. Simply it's geographic location. While Sin-inun sits within the North Ring, Shaisvara sits at the center of the South Ring. It's a shining jewel amidst deadly ice wastes. For centuries it was believed that the South Ring was not a ring at all but was a solid expanse of uninhabitable cold through to its center. It had nothing of value unless one wanted to move both the heavens and the hells, as well as enough crystals and machines to feed a whole nation's industry to try and heat the land if there even was any, and melt the ice. Imagine the scientific world's surprise, unwarranted though it really was, when a nation in a jungle was found at its center. The first expedition was in response to a golden finch, an enchanted automaton, was found within the palace of the king of Twisren. The bird hopped about, examining everything, and for a time was simply an oddity within the palace. The golden bird that had graced the king. Much to the surprise of the nation's nobility, the next time the king of Twisren held court, the bird spoke in a mechanical voice, asking all kinds of questions to those gathered. It also answered any asked of it, mainly the question all had been wondering, where had the bird come from? Shiasvara, it had said, and that it was an automaton that worked for its Maharaja to explore and introduce others to the nation. No one present had heard of the place before, but it certainly caused gears to start turning. The bird described the nation as a land of unimaginable wealth and expressed a willingness to share with those who made the journey to this mysterious land. No one in the known world was prepared for such an expedition so soon after the collapse of the Old Empire. Many nations had lost the ability to make airships entirely, but Twisren was different. It had retained that knowledge through circumstance and had built much of its power base with its fleet. The major hurdle was the South Ring, which was assumed to be a flat of uninhabitable ice and nothing else until you reached the other side and exited the 'south pole'. Traversing the pole as it was understood at the time was no easy task, and had never been done successfully before. An expedition would have to be specifically equipped to traverse the wastes and survive the dangers of monsters and ice and wind-aspected Aether sprites looking to feed. A flotilla from Twisren would have to go through massive refits, be equipped with entirely new inventions meant solely for that expedition, and be armed to the teeth all in one to survive the journey to the land that was already reaching mythical proportions of wealth and opulence in their minds. Not only that, but they wished to keep the whole thing secret for as long as they could to limit the possibility of others beating them there. The flight of fancy that nearly the whole of the court of Twisren went on from that day would destroy Twisren as expeditions set off and failed, only to be followed by another soon after. It bankrupted the kingdom and destroyed the fleet that they had relied upon to project power and protect themselves, and the whole nation would eventually be usurped by a reformation of the nation of Inisharn. No one who considered themselves Twisreni would even see the prize that had brought low their homeland. That honor, instead, passes to a Kanuchko woman by the name of Sikyanmana Inwoya, who would lead the first successful expedition into the center of the South Ring. We have focused far too much on the history of Shaisvara from outside of the Shaisvaran perspective. The founding of the nation starts with a legend of an ancient king. In ancient times, before the Great Wyrms had spread across the known world, the land of Shaisvara was hard. It is shrouded in dangerous jungles, and both the wildlife and monsters within the area are deadly predators. The people who lived within the Southern Ring had no political or national identity, preoccupied as they were with simple survival, and they were divided into a series of tribes that rarely interacted with each other. If legend is to be believed, the Icons looked down upon the jungles and forests of Shaisvara, and the people huddled in their huts and tents, and took pity upon them. The Princess of Silver Stars looked to her friend, the Player of the Golden Sitar and begged her to come up with something to aid the humans. At first, the Player simply laughed, not wanting to become involved with such a task, but when they saw the tears of the Princess, agreed to help. The Player gathered up clay from the divine realm and fashioned it into the form of a baby, then gave it to the Princess, who drew upon it seven symbols, each one representing an aspect of the soul. When those were done, she painted it to look like a human child and gave it back to the Player. The Player descended from the divine realm and found a woman who lived alone on the outskirts of town and entered their home, sitar drawn. After a brief moment of fear and hesitation, the two embraced each other as lovers, and when morning came the Sitar Player left the baby within the woman and quickly hurried off. For fifteen months the woman carried the child, unsure of what to make of it, but assured by magic and medicine that she was really pregnant and that the child still lived. When the time came and her water broke, she labored for three days and three nights, attended to by wetnurses sent by the Icons themselves. When her struggle was finally done, she looked to her child and named him Agroha Ambarisha, which means 'eventual victory'. Despite the trouble that infant had caused her, she raised him well, making sure to impart all the lessons that she could as he grew far faster than the other children. The true scope of the adventures and trials of the hero Agroha Ambarisha are too numerous to be recounted here, but they have their own place within this codex and have no fear; His stories are one of the longest textual works in the known world, after all. To cut it tragically short, for now, we shall skip to the end and what is most relevant for Shaisvara. After many years and many labors, Agroha became a figure that all knew on sight and respected. Famed for slaying monsters with his strength and routing whole armies with his wit, he had become a figure all knew the metal of. It was this that allowed him to leverage the people's faith in him. A normal Raj would have gotten nowhere. The distrust all those beneath and besides would have, and the fear of mortal error or lacking descendants would crack the foundations before anything was built upon them. But a demigod? One that had given aid and righted wrongs for decades? More of a symbol than a man at that point in his life, but that is exactly what allowed him to ask the tribes to join hands with him. They knew that he wouldn't lead them astray. His strength of character was too strong, or so the story goes. Seven tribes united beneath him, forming the foundation of Shaisvara. Their importance is noted through the key that each holds as their most sacred treasure, granted to them by Agroha when the capital city was founded. Each is a powerful artifact in and unto itself, but symbolically it means that tribe has a superseding authority over the ones that joined later. It's not written into any document, but the six tribes remain the most powerful. The six remaining leading tribes are as follows:
- Vjesht: The most powerful tribe, partially because of their fame as the people the Agroha was born to as well as being the tribe that every successive Maharaj(n) has been born to. Their tribal colors are gold and the famed Black Diamonds of Shaisvara.
- Akhil: Generally considered the second in command of Agroha, due to the favor he showed to the tribe's first leader as a powerful war leader for the demigod. Their colors are Cinnebar, and the the more common, mundane, diamond. Having diamonds as their representative symbol also shows their position as the 'right hand' of Shaisvaran society.
- Tulwra : In the days of Agroha, they were famed metalworkers and craftsmen. In the modern era, they are still known for their specialized crafts but are more famous for their reputation as merchants and businessmen.
- Primav: The arcane heart of Shaisvara, and tribe with the smallest numbers, even to this day. Much of the magic work and creation of enchanting is done through this tribe. Their colors are sapphire and citrine.
- Linkurma: The political acumen of the Linkurma is held in high esteem within Shaisvara, and they often fill governmental roles as clerks and politicians. Outside of the country, they're often stationed as diplomats, and people unfamiliar with Shaisvara often believe that the tribe's amethyst colors are the national colors of Shaisvara as a whole.
- Gariva: The Gariva hold a bit of a low-rung out of the keyholding tribes as they are a jack of all trades. Their population is quite large, perhaps even equal to the Vjesht, but they lack a preference for particular kinds of tasks. Across Shaisvaran society, they fill the gaps wherever needed, which has caused them to be treated as lesser. Their tribal colors are copper and a particular kind of mundane agate common to the shores of Shaisvara.
Structure
While the tribes maintain a lot of individuality with sections of cities and even whole towns earmarked for each tribe, in a way (the color most prominently featured in an urban space would indicate who has control), they all are still beholden to the Maharaja in both law and society.
This is, perhaps, best exemplified by the way that the army of Shaisvara is a riot of tribal colors. Each tribe provides the men and material for the proper manpower tithes, but for the most part, there are no units completely made up of a single tribe. All recruits are trained and drilled by Vjesht officers, or officers that have been trained at official officer schools and are decidedly under the command of the central government. For this example, it should be said that each tribe does maintain its own, small, armed forces to deal with problems not warranting the crown's attention. This would be equivalent to the Lebarallian militia system that is widely adopted across the known world, though it's a bit more centralized in the case of Shaisvara.
Culture
Simana; A traditional fabric used by nearly all the tribes. Light as silk and with such vibrant color and sheen that it often looks like spun metal and gemstones, it gives each tribe its distinctive colored clothing. While not properly reflective, it does shimmer and shine if light passes directly onto it. Long skirts are popular with Shaisvaran women, as it can create quite the striking sight when dancing or simply splaying the clothing out.
All Have Their Throne in the Eyes of the Maharaja
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Training Level
Elite
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Demonym
Shaisvaran
Leader
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Market economy
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